Say When
by noaverageangel
Summary: It's a boring afternoon at the cave when an emergency call comes in. PRE-TIMESKIP SLIGHTLY AU "Robin!" GA calls, struggling to pull what appears to be Artemis he can only see her hair-Oh God her hair through the Zeta Beam.
1. Chapter 1

**Say When **

**A/N: What started as an ask box fic became so much more! Please Review! Special thanks to chipofmintchocolate! 3 ya baby! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own YJ or the characters or the song "Say When" by the fray. :P **

Dick was sitting in the The Cave's kitchen, working on the ridiculously easy homework his teachers gave him when the Caves communication system started going haywire. He quickly rushed over to accept the transmission as everyone else was out. GA's unusually frightened face came on screen "Robin! Where's Batman?!"

"Probably in Gotham, what's going on GA?" Robin asked worriedly.

"It's Artemis. I need you to call Batman and tell him to prepare the med bay." GA grimaced. "Tell him to call in a Code 8."

Dick looked up, eyes behind the mask wide with fear. "A Code 8?! What happened? Is Artemis-"

But GA cuts him off, "I don't have time for this! Prepare the Med Bay and try to get Batman. ETA 7 Minutes." And GA was gone.

Robin stared at the screen a second, collecting his thoughts, then rushed into action. He ran into the med-bay and signaled for Watchtower medical assistance and made sure there was a bed for Artemis. Then he called Bats

"Robin to Batman." He said anxiously into the Comm.

"What is it Dick?" Bruce's deep voice filled Dick's ears.

" GA just called in a Code 8 for Artemis, I don't know what happened but he was insistent that you get here." Dick explained quietly. Then he looked at his wrist computer. "Their ETA should be around 3 minutes."

Bruce made an approving grunt and said "Alright, I should be there in 2. No patrol tonight." And the connection dropped.

Dick collapsed into a chair in the kitchen. Code 8's were bad. Code 8 meant-no. He wouldn't go there. RECONGIZED BATMAN 02.

"Is she here yet?" Bruce asks, walking into the Cave.

"No." Dick answers sadly. Batman gives Dick a pointed look through the cowl.

"I'm fine; you should go make sure all the right doctors are here." Dick says stubbornly. Bruce nods and goes to the Med Bay. Dick can hear him talking to the Doctors quietly, and as he gets up to ask a question the Zeta Beam whirrs to life. Dick freezes and turns around, expecting the worst.

RECONGIZED GREEN ARROW 08 ARTEMIS B07.

"Robin!" GA calls, struggling to pull what appears to be Artemis (he can only see her hair-Oh God her hair) through the Zeta Beam. As Dick moves to help, he hears the billowing of a cape and before he can take another step, Bruce is there, lifting Artemis's bloody, beaten body out of GA's hands and rushing to the Med-Bay. GA quickly limps behind Batman and Dick follows. Artemis was put on a gurney and rushed away into surgery. Dick didn't get a good luck at her and thought it was for the best. He heard GA groan in a mixture of pain and frustration. Bruce and Dick both turned from staring after Artemis and looked expectantly at Ollie.

"What happened?" Dick asked angrily. GA sighed, sunk down on the extra gurney and put his head in his hands. A nurse quickly rushed over to look at him and Dick noticed he had a few small cuts and a twisted ankle. Ollie looked up, the guilt obvious in his eyes.

"It's all my fault." He whispered. Dick and Bruce shared a look then turned to Ollie.

"Explain." said Batman, crossing his arms. Ollie ran his hands through his hair tiredly.

"3 days ago **(Monday)** Artemis and I went on patrol. Everything was fine. I sent her home later than usual, and she said she would call or text me the next day. We both went our separate ways. I got a text from her the next afternoon saying she had a huge test and wasn't able to patrol. Wednesday I got another text saying she was grounded and couldn't patrol. Thursday morning around 9:00 am Paula called to thank me for letting Artemis stay with me the past couple days. I told her I hadn't seen Artemis since Monday. I told Paula not to worry; she was probably hiding out in the Cave. But she wasn't. I ended up having to track her. How _HE_ didn't find her tracker, I don't know." GA paused. "According to the tracker, she was somewhere in Bludhaven. I, of course, went to go find her without backup." He shakes his head, and suddenly his voice is loud and raging with self-disgust. "I was so stupid! I should've known something was going on. I should've made sure she got home safe. I should've-"

Bruce places a hand on Ollie's shoulder. Dick just waits. Ollie looks down sadly. "She-she-" His voice cracks in despair. "She was in one of the Shadow's torture centers." Dick can't control the sound that comes from his mouth; it's a twisted mixture of shock and sadness.

"She was there for 3 days." Dick says accusingly.

Ollie just looks at Dick, heartbroken. "I know."

Bruce gives Dick another look before turning to Ollie. "How did you get her out?"

Ollie shrugs his shoulders, "I don't know. It was far too easy. _HE_ wasn't there; Cheshire was the only operative besides a few guards. She didn't even put up that much of a fight. When I finally got to Artemis, I don't think she was conscious. Her eyes blinked a few times, but that was it. I got a hold of Robin and barely made it to the Zeta ,as I was trying not to hurt her more than I had too. In the process I somehow twisted my ankle. We got to the cave and..." He trails off, staring into the nothingness of the med bay's walls. Dick doesn't know what to do, so he sits in a chair near Ollie.

Bruce stays standing, "Did anyone else know where you were going?"

Ollie shakes his head "No." Bruce nods, he knew this. Dick speaks up, a sudden question forming in his mind.

"Who took her?" he asks with a mixture of curiosity and anxiety.

**A/N: Chapter two coming soon Review! Traught/afriends in later chapters as well as intense angst and such! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Oh my sweet baby Jesus you guys are great! I love each and every one of you that reviewed and favorite/followed! *send internet hugs* This chapter was super hard to write but I pushed through! I hope you enjoy it! Review! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own YJ. **

"Sportsmaster." Bruce said disgusted. Dick whirled around to face Bruce.

"Sportsmaster? But wh-. Oh." Dick remembered the file he had hacked about Artemis. Whose father could be so cruel? The room drifted into an anxious silence as they awaited to hear from the Doctors.

"Oliver, maybe you should call Dinah?" Bruce suggested softly.

Ollie just shook his head. "I want to be here when she wakes up. I owe her that much." The room fell quiet again. A knock on the door made them all jump slightly.

One of the watch tower's doctors walked in. "I'm looking for the guardian of Artemis Crock."

Oliver stood up, wincing slightly. "That would be me. Will she be alright?" Oliver couldn't control the worry in his voice.

The doctor glanced at Bruce and Dick, but Oliver motioned for him to _just freakin tell him already. _The doctor coughed and said "Artemis has had a severe trauma."

_No duh. _Dick thought, irritated.

The Doctor listed her symptoms in a gloomy tone. "She has 3 broken ribs, a broken arm, shoulder, and hand. As well as experiencing severe internal bleeding, head trauma. She has burned tissue and slight nerve damage from electrical shocks. Her heartbeat is irregular from this as well. She has several small cuts on various parts of her body from what appear to have been poisonous blades. "

With each word Oliver's face grew paler, and paler. Dick thought he might collapse at any given moment. Bruce must've sensed it too because he stepped towards the doctor. "Can we see her now?" Bruce said in his Batman voice. The doctor nodded and led the way to where Artemis was.

The Doctor led them to one of the med bay's long term rooms. Oliver ran to Artemis's side and pulled up a chair to sit with her. A tear slipped down his face as he grabbed her good hand. Looking at her now, he realized how utterly fragile she was. It would be at least a month and a half before she could touch a bow again. He laughed darkly; she would not like that one bit.

Brue and Dick stayed back slightly, letting Ollie have his moment. Dick looked over Artemis, she looked so _broken_. She was covered in casts and bandages. Plus she was plugged into 3 different machines. The biggest difference was her face/ head. Seeing her usually smirking face severely bruised, from what Dick could only assume were punches and slaps, was hard. Seeing her now short hair was harder. Artemis's hair was one of those things that defined her. No matter how many times people told her to cut it, she always said no. It was just so her. And now it was gone.

"Oliver, can I speak with you outside?" Bruce asked quietly. Oliver nodded, and Bruce, Ollie, and the Doctor walked out into the hall. Dick slowly walked to where Ollie had been sitting before. "Oh Mis." he said softly. He looked over her damaged body and grimaced. These wounds would take over a month to heal on their own. "I hate seeing you like this." The words tumble out of his mouth before he can stop them. He doesn't worry too much though. She would probably be out for a couple days after such a horrible experience.

"Dick." He turns around at Bruce's calm voice. "We need to go tell the team." Dick nods.

"I'll be right there." He says turning back to Artemis. Dick waits for Bruce's footsteps to fade before leaning over Artemis and kissing her forehead gently. He turns quickly and hurries after Bruce.

Dick walks into the main room to see the Team, GA, and Bats.

"Rob! What's going on?" KF asked in a low voice as Dick joined the Team.

"Where's Artemis?" asked M'gann slightly concerned.

Bruce coughed and Dick was saved from answering both questions.

"Artemis has been severely injured and will be recovering for the next month. She will be staying in the med-bay here until further notice. "Bruce said stiffly.

There were various reactions from the team: M'gann gasped and put her head on Superboy's shoulder. KF's jaw dropped, Kaldur and Superboy both raised the eyebrows.

"What happened?" asks KF wonderingly.

"The job." Batman said roughly.

KF looked taken back, and Dick gave Bruce a look through the mask.

GA sighed. "Look, you guys can go visit her, she shouldn't wake up for a few hours at least. Call me or Batman if anything happens." He looked at Dick as he said the last part. Dick nodded understandingly.

"Wait, where are you two going?" asked Superboy.

"To tell Artemis's mother what's happened."

~~Paula POV~~

As I sat in our apartment, I tried to think of where Artemis could be. I sighed. It was exhausting worrying about Artemis. She was stubborn, and headstrong. I smiled. But she loves being a vigilante. If only to piss of her father. I chuckled as I maneuvered my way into the kitchen. I out some leftovers in the microwave and was waiting on them to cook when I heard an awful sound.

"Hello Paula."

I quickly whipped my head around to see Lawrence in his civilian clothes staring back at me.

"What do you want?" I asked him in a threating tone.

He laughed and came toward me. "I'm just showing my _favorite _daughter what the consequences are."

I backed up, trying to get to the kitchen knives, the tables, something to defend myself with. "Jade and I have no connection anymore Lawrence. You know that." I said, desperate to keep him talking.

He grinned wickedly. "Who said I was talking about Jade?"

I froze, "What have you done with Artemis?!" I yelled angrily.

He laughed again. "Much more than I'm going to do to you." That's when I saw the knife in his hands. I blanched and he smiled. "I'll make it quick Paula, I do hate that this has to happen, but if Artemis continues to be insubordinate," He tsked. I tried backing away again but he grabbed the chair.

"No! Lawrence _please_!" I begged.

I felt a sharp pain to my abdomen and cried out. The last thing I saw was Artemis's welcoming arms and a bright, glowing light.

**a/n cliffhanger! *evil laugh* review and I might be able to update again later! **


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Young Justice. If I did there would be no hiatus! **

When Batman and GA got to the apartment, they knew something was off. When they found Paula, and the envelope addressed to Artemis, they knew they were too late.

"Dammit!" Oliver cried, slamming his fist into the wall. "I can't believe this." He muttered looking around the room. Batman stepped up from his examination and frowned deeply.

"The GPD is on the way." His says turning to Ollie. Ollie groans and runs his fingers through his hair. Batman sighs. "I'll handle it. Go see Artemis." Ollie stares at Batman for a moment, realizing this was one of the few and in between times when the man under the cowl could be seen. He nods.

"Thanks. See you at the cave." Ollie says and heads out to the zeta.

Batman stares after him for a moment then walk to where the envelope is and pockets it.

-Break—

RECONGIZED GREEN ARROW 08

4 heads turned toward him as he walked in. He sighed and walked past them to the med bay. Dick could tell by the _dis_traught look on GA's face that whatever happened with Artemis's mom did not go well. He turned back towards the Team. They were all (minus Wally) sitting in the living area, the TV on a random show no-one was watching. Each one of them seemed absorbed in their own thoughts.

They had tried to go visit Artemis, but it wasn't easy. M'gann had started to cry and Conner had walked her back to the kitchen, and attempted to comfort her. Wally just stayed long enough to realize she was seriously hurt and then decided he wanted to go on a run. Kaldur stayed a little longer, but ultimately decided he was of no use there and decided to go help Conner with M'gann. Dick stayed the longest. He waited til Kaldur left before he said anything. And He didn't say much. He held her hand (something she would have never let him do while she was awake) and just kind of talked about nothing for 20 minutes. He then kissed her forehead again and went to join his team.

He was about to make a suggestion of something to do when Wally stormed in. He heard the kitchen cabinets slamming then saw Wally in front of him with a bag of chips. Everyone was silent. Suddenly, Wally jumped up. "Are we just gonna sit here and do nothing?! I mean we don't even know what happened!" He yelled coming to sit with the team.

"Well what are we supposed to do?" M'gann asked sadly.

"I mean it's not like we can interrogate Artemis or anything." Superboy agreed.

Dick sighed. "I guess I could tell you what I know" He said half-heartedly.

Wally's eyebrows shot up. "You mean you've been holding info the whole time!?" He shouted.

"It's not a lot!" He said angrily. Wally glared at him.

"Just tell us what you know." Wally stated dryly.

So, Dick told them what he knew, starting from the distress call. When he was done he was met with a variety of looks: disbelief, sadness, anger, _dis_traught.

"So we're going after Sportsmaster right?!" Wally asked excitedly, suddenly energetic.

Kaldur opened his mouth to respond but a dark, deep voice filled the room. "No."

Dick winced and turned to face The Dark Knight. "You will not be going anywhere near Sportsmaster." Batman said with steel in his voice. This was met with various levels of rebellion from each team member, but Batman silenced them all with a hand. "You have seen what he can do, and he has become rather…erratic since Green Arrow found Artemis. You will stay here. That is final." With that Batman turned on his heal and headed back to wherever he came from in the first place. Wally and Robin both groaned loudly, then Dick grinned.

"He said we couldn't leave right? So let's just stay here and see what we can dig up about what happened!" he said excitedly. The others brightened quickly.

"I believe that would be a good idea." Kaldur said calmly with a small smile.

_BREAK_

Back in the med-bay, Ollie was wallowing in a pit of guilt and despair. _How could I have let this happen? What will happen to Artemis now? Will she ever forgive me? _ "Oh Artemis," he sighed "I am so so sorry." He put his head in his hands.

_Ahem._

A cough at the door interrupted his thoughts. It was Batman again. "Ollie, there are some things we need to discuss."

Ollie sighed. "Can't it wait?"

Bruce stiffened, "Unless you want Artemis in the foster-care system, this needs to be handled now."

Ollie grumbled, "Fine. I'll meet you in the conference room." Bruce nodded and went to go get all the proper paperwork in order. Ollie looked at Artemis's torn body and found himself letting a tear slip down his face. He quickly wiped his eyes, squeezed Artemis's hand, and walked to the conference room.

Ollie had just finished signing the papers after about 3 hours of talking things over when he and Batman heard a blood curdling scream. "Artemis!" Ollie shouted running towards the med-bay. Batman was right on his heels. When they got to the med-bay, the Team was there trying to restrain a wildly thrashing Artemis. Ollie stepped forward "Let go of her! Let her breathe!" he said pushing Dick and Wally back. Artemis, who had been continuously screaming, scooted as far back into the hospital bed as she could. She was breathing heavily, and Ollie noticed she had ripped out her IVs. "Artemis. Calm down okay? No one is going to hurt you." Ollie spoke softly and walked towards her slowly.

Artemis took a couple deep breaths and put a tough mask on. When she speaks, her voice is rough, hoarse, almost a whisper. Ollie wonders how she managed that scream. "Where am I? How did I get here?" Ollie opens his mouth but Artemis cuts him off frantically. "Where is he? Is he here?" She screeches. She tries to get out of the bed but winces in great pain and falls back on the bed.

"You're safe, Artemis. It's alright. He won't hurt you anymore." Ollie whispers lovingly, trying to get the haunting look of fear off her face.

Artemis looks into his caring blue eyes and shakes her head. "It's only just begun."

**A/N MWAHAHA. Intense foreshadowing! :D This chapter was really hard to write, but it had to be done, now things are really gonna be moving in the next chapter. I'll try to update every Sunday, occasionally Saturdays too. Also, thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! Each one means a whole lot to me! ;D REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **


	4. Chp 4

**I don't own DC. I do own a janky phone though. **

Ollie sighed. "Artemis don't worry. We can handle him."

Artemis just shook her head, far too tired to argue with him now. "You should rest." Ollie says, seeing the dark circles under her eyes. "I don't need to rest." She said stubbornly. Everyone looked up at her doubtfully. "Well, I don't!" She said louder.

"Artemis, it's been a long few days." Ollie said gently.

"I don't want to sleep." She says softly, looking down.

"Nothing's gonna hurt ya here Arty!" Wally says grinning.

"Shut up Baywatch!" Artemis says sarcastically.

Wally's grin just widens, glad to see his friend returning to normal.

Artemis notices M'gann staring at her raises her eyebrows at her. "Oh. I'm just glad to see you're alright!" M'gann says cheerfully. Artemis rolls her eyes.

"It is good to see you awake." Kaldur says.

"Well, I should be out of here soon!" Artemis says confidently. Ollie just shakes his head.

He turns to the team and says "Now, we need to speak with Artemis about a few things, you all can visit later. "

The Team protests loudly, so Ollie and Batman lead them out into the hall. Dick is the last to go and takes a look back.

"Wait!" Artemis says weakly. "Robin. Will you stay?" She asks, looking down.

Dick gives her a trademark grin. "Sure 'Mis." He comes and sits by her bed.

"So. What'd I miss while I was out?" She asks falling back on the pillows.

"Nothing much. I-we were all pretty worried about you. " He comments nonchalantly.

"Oh." Artemis says, surprised. "Sorry."

Dick looks up at her, aghast. "Artemis none of this was your fault. You know that right?" He asked worriedly.

"I know but-"

Suddenly, Artemis hears a shrieking sound. Like a microphone giving bad feedback or something. She grabs her head.

_But it __**was **__your fault._

Artemis shot up out of the hospital bed, eyes wide. "No." She whispered, frightened.

Artemis screeched. She looked around the room, frightened, wringing her hands as she did so.

"You said he wasn't here!" She yelled anxiously, glancing left and right quickly.

"Artemis no one-" Dick started to say soothingly.

"I HEARD HIM. HE'S HERE." She shouted, struggling to get out of the hospital bed.

Ollie walked in almost instantly. Dick was trying to calm her down. "Sportsmaster isn't here. He can't be here, okay?" He says, his eyes pleading with her. Something was seriously wrong.

"I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT SPORTSMASTER!" She yells, yanking her arm back, still attempting to break loose.

Ollie is at her side in a heartbeat, "Then who?" He asks gently.

_**Do not speak of me to these peasants.  
**_

Artemis shrieks again, louder this time, and clutches at her head, rocking back and forth on the bed. "NO! Not again. Please. Please!" She cries out.

Artemis meanwhile begins to scream, and clutch at her head in pain. Ollie tries to calm her down. He pulls her hands away from her face and holds her until she stops rocking. "Artemis, please calm down." She doesn't stop, instead it intensifies. Dick decides to go get Bruce. Meanwhile, her arms begin going wildly, and she tries to push her legs off the bed. Bruce enters, and quickly asses the flailing girl and her flustered mentor and flicks a switch on the IV drip. Within seconds Artemis is asleep.

"What was that about?" The Dark Knight asks his protégé.

Dick sinks into a chair. "I don't know we were having a normal conversation when she suddenly started freaking about someone being here, but not Sportsmaster." Dick explains quietly.

Ollie and Bruce share a look. "Robin, go tell the team what's happened. We'll be in the conference room if you need us." Bruce says, hurrying out of the room with Ollie close on his heels.

Dick gathers the Team, who a minuet ago had been celebrating, into Artemis's room with a solemn face. He explains what happened then yanks Wally into the hallway.

"Bruce and Ollie are up to something. " He says pointedly.

"What're you talking about?" Wally asks.

"I'm talking about the fact that they're in the conference room right now discussing some very important stuff about Artemis!" Dick says frustrated.

"So we're gonna go eavesdrop?" Wally says excitedly.

"Exactly." Dick grins.

Meanwhile, Kaldur, Conner, and Mgann are all sitting in the hospital room rather worried about their friend.

M'gann suddenly gasps and looks at Artemis in shock. "Hello M'gann! There must be a presence in her mind!" She says.

Kaldur looks at her questioningly. "What do you mean? "

"I mean, there is a strange aura in this room that I haven't been able to put my finger on. I assumed it was Artemis, being all that's she's been through. But maybe it's someone else!" M'gann said excitedly; glad to finally have something useful to contribute.

"It would certainly explain the behavior. Would your Uncle know more on the subject?" Kaldur asks hopefully.

"He should! We can ask him and do some research of our own." M'gann says, jumping out of her seat.

"Conner, you stay here with Artemis. We'll be in the control room if anything happens," Kaldur says, exiting with M'gann.

Conner grunts his approval. He looks at Artemis, even in her sleep she looked like she was in pain. Conner resisted the urge to punch a wall. Artemis was like a sister to him, and he hated seeing her hurt like this. The next time he saw Sportsmaster, he was going to give him some rough payback.

_Breakline_

Once Bruce was sure they were alone, he showed Ollie the note he took from the apartment.

_You'll heal. The side effects may not be worth it; HE's there. Jade._

"Who's in her head?" Ollie asked threatingly.

"I don't know yet. I also don't know why Jade would leave this for Artemis. " Bruce said as he began typing on his wrist computer rapidly, pulling up files of Jade and various villains.

"Well, the only known telepath is Psimon right?" Ollie asked; he began to pace.

"Yes but that doesn't mean there aren't others." Bruce countered.

"True, true." Ollie said dismissively .

"But why would Jade leave a note after she helped torture Artemis?" Bruce wondered aloud.

A new voice enter the conversation. "Because Sportsmaster wanted to send a message." Dick said, dropping from the ceiling with Wally.

Brue Batglared at the two of them.

"What? This is important!" Wally said angrily.

"Look, Sportsmaster wanted Artemis to know that whoever this villain is was, is, in her head." Dick said opening his own wrist computer.

"It's not Psimon because M'gann would have sensed him" Wally said, eating a energy bar from the compartment in his suit.

"So it's a new villain." Ollie said.

"Or maybe an old one." Bruce said, opening a different set of files. " A few years back the league went up against a telepath from the Shadows, he was dealt with and sent to Belle Reave where he supposedly died." Brue continued, opening a file on the big screen of the conference room.

"No! Not him, anyone but him!" Ollie shouted.

Wally and Dick shared a pointed look.

Bruce grimaced. "I'm afraid so. It's-"

Artemis's terrified scream interrupted Bruce's revelation. All 4 of the heroes raced down the hall, Wally of course got there first. Although he wished he hadn't. Artemis was in agonizing pain. Her wounds all healing unnaturally fast. The nurses were rushing around trying desperately to up her morphine levels and put her to sleep. Superboy was nowhere to be seen, he must have ran to get M'gann. When Ollie, Bruce, and Dick caught up to him, they all winced. A nurse ran up to Batman and gestured to the hallway.

"Nothing we do works, her body is rejecting all forms of painkillers." The nurse said regretfully.

"Sportmaster must have injected her with some kind of healing serum or something!" Wally shouted.

"And the side effect is the presence in her mind!" Dick said thoughtfully.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Ollie begged the nurse.

She shook her head sadly. "Just try to get her to sleep if you can, and keep her calm." She walked away quickly.

"Yeah sure, no problem." Ollie mumbled sarcastically, heading into the room. Everyone else on his heels.

Artemis had stopped screaming and was just staring at the ceiling in pain now.

Ollie walked to her bedside. "Hey kiddo." He said softly, taking her hand.

She turned her towards him slowly. "Ollie. Where's my mom?" She whispered, her throat sore from screaming.

**I told you she's **_**dead**__._

"Shut. Up." Artemis growled under her breath.

Ollie didn't hear her, he was trying to ask Bruce what to tell her, but Dick and Wally did.

""Artemis, did you say something?" Wally asked curiousy.

"No." She said through her teeth.

Bruce coughed. "Let's leave these two alone for now."

"But-" Dick started but Bruce cut him off.

"Now." Bruce said pointing to the door.

Wally and Dick trudged out, wishing they could do more for Artemis.

Ollie coughed, glad he could do this without an audience.

"Artemis your mother…..she…..Paula…."

"She's dead isn't she?" Artemis said sorrowfully, refusing to look at Ollie.

"Yes. I'm sorry. " Ollie said sadly.

"Dammit to hell!" Artemis slammed her fists on the bed.

"Artemis there was nothing you could have done." Ollie said quickly.

"I could have told." She said quietly. "I could have given him what wanted and walked away."

Ollie stared at her. "Artemis, you know that's not true, he will never leave you alone."

"Is it?' She looked into his eyes, "I might have had to switch sides, but he would have left her alone."

**You can still switch sides. **

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Artemis screamed, bolting straight up and moaning in pain as she did so.

"Look, you need to rest." Ollie said quietly.

Artemis turned away.

Ollie sighed. "Tell me if you need anything, I'll leave you alone for now." He gave her a sad look. "I really am sorry Artemis." And he walked out the door.

Artemis didn't look after him. She needed some time to think, without being looped up on drugs. Even though everything hurt like hell.

**You **_**can**_** switch sides you know. **

Artemis scoffed. "Little late for that now don't cha think?

**The Shadows have always welcomed you. **

"Yes, because killing my mother was such a great invitation." She said sarcastically.

**It was necessary. **

"No it wasn't! " She said angrily.

**Think what you will. **

Artemis just groaned in frustration. She did not like sharing her thoughts with this _thing. _She thought she'd been rid of it long ago. But no.

"Stupid Sportsmaster." She spat, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yeah. What a moron." Dick said dropping from the air vent.

Artemis glared at him. "What do you want Robin?"

Dick feigned hurt. "Such a tone to use with the one who brings you chocolate." He tsked playfully.

Artemis's eyebrows rose, and she sat up very slowly, careful not to hurt anything else. "You have chocolate?"

He nodded.

"Give." She said holding out her hand.

He ginned, hopping onto the bed carefully. He pulled a Hershey bar out of seemingly thin air and she snatched it up greedily.

"You," She said after a mouthful, "are the best."

"No duh. " He rolled his eyes.

A tense silence fell between them.

"Hey 'Mis?" Dick said softly.

She tilts her head at him, her grey eyes searching for something, but he wasn't sure what.

"Do you miss your hair?" He says mischievously.

She reaches back and runs her fingers through her now short hair, brushing some new scars as she does so.

"Honestly, I hadn't even thought about it." She says nonchantly.

"Mhm." He responds.

"Really!" She says unconvincingly.

He leans over and runs her fingers though it himself.

"I kind of like it." He says truthfully.

She just glares at him and he smirks but leans back away from her blonde locks.

"So where's everyone else?" She asks, wanting to change the subject

He waves a hand. "Planning revenge."

She gives him a worried look and he quickly amends his sentence.

"Not like that. Just trying to figure out where to go from here really."

She nods and looks at her hands.

"'Mis, you….you know I'm here for you right?" He says, taking her hands into his own.

She continues to stare at her hands, somehow entwining their fingers together in a tight grasp.

"Just say when." He says, wishing he could take all the pain away.

She looks up at him, her grey eyes showing so much heartache and pain.

**You are weak. **

Artemis shakes her head quickly, desperate to get _HIM _out.

**You are.**

Robin looks at her worriedly, sensing that she was having a war with herself.

Suddenly Artemis looks at Robin, really looks at him. Her grey eyes seem to go deeper than the domino mask allows and Dick has the urge to just wrap her in his arms and take her away from all this pain. She leans in close to him, ignoring the voice in her head and the pain it causes. He leans forward too, so they meet in the middle. Their foreheads are touching when Artemis speaks.

"When."

_OMG! I am so sorry for the delay but I had a lot of personal stuff going on. So here's a nice long chapter to make up for everything. Please tell me what you think! I was having writers block so special thanks to my good friend __**unsanctuaire **__and her help on this chapter! If you have any questions or concerns leave a review or send me a pm. LOVE YOU ALL! _


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